Hearts vs. God's Will

In Samuel 7 we see David’s good heart and desire to glorify God. But it’s misguided.

He desired to build a house for God since his own palace was so very much nicer than the tent the Ark (and supposedly, God) was in. He thought God’s house ought to be more glorious than his own. There are a couple of problems with that. When David told his friend and prophet, Nathan what he planned in his heart to do, Nathan responded, “Good, do everything that is in your heart, for ADONAI is with you” (vs. 3, CJB).

David and Nathan made an assumption that whatever was in David’s heart was okay with God. “But that same night the word of ADONAI came to Nathan: Go and tell my servant David that this is what ADONAI  says:. . .” (vs. 4). God goes on to explain a myriad of things to Nathan and David, which basically says He doesn’t want David to build Him a house, even as David thought it was what God wanted. In 1 Kings 8:18 we are told a little more about this from Solomon, David’s son’s, vantage point: “but ADONAI said to David my father, ‘Although it was in your heart to build a house for my name, and you did well that it was in your heart . . .”

The caution for us: when we think we are getting some kind of message from God in our hearts we should know it can’t be trusted. Jeremiah 17:9 (and other passages tell us not to trust our hearts): “The heart is more deceitful than all else And is desperately sick; Who can understand it?” (NASB). We should not confuse God’s will for what we feel or think in our hearts. When making decisions, we need to have much stronger backing for them than just what we feel or think. The truth we need is found in God’s revealed will – the Bible. Sometimes the Bible doesn’t tell us exactly what to do, but we should still not confuse our feelings or thoughts on a matter as God’s will for us.

Also, David had come to believe that, just like the other Middle Eastern nations, God was actually living in that tent – that He was confined to the tent. David missed the point that He was everywhere and could move about as He wished, but God reviewed that truth with David in verses 5-7:

Go and tell my servant David that this is what ADONAI says: “You are going to build me a house to live in? Since the day I brought the people of Isra’el out of Egypt until today, I never lived in a house; rather, I traveled in a tent and a tabernacle. Every where I traveled with all the people of Isra’el, did I ever speak a word to any of the tribes of Isra’el, whom I ordered to shepherd my people Isra’el, asking ‘Why haven’t you built me a cedar-wood house?’”

We, likewise, need to know our God is not confined to a building, a place, or to one nation. He can be everywhere at once. He goes with us wherever we go. Psalm 139:5 tells us, “You have hemmed me in both behind and in front and laid your hand on me.” He’s not confined to church on Sundays. We need to remember He is with us and act as His emissaries throughout the week wherever we are.